K9 Wellness Through Sports
Sports offer many benefits. Most are thinking games, so the conversation between you and your dog may be a bit different than teaching manners. It creates a relationship that grows deeper and the bond is one that cannot be described at times. Classes serve several purposes. They all provide dog owners with an opportunity to engage with the dog in a thoughtful learning approach.
When you pick a sport, you will find that it may be complex at first. Take your time and be patient with yourself and your dog. It's a new skill with a new training approach, so laugh and have fun with it.
While most of the competitions are timed, practicing the skills needed to play should be done slowly. Most training curriculums taught for sport use a progressive, marker-based approach. The lessons start with relatively simple foundation components and get more complex as we add components together. Most exercises are broken down into individual steps so that if you need more time to work on any individual component, you and your dog can progress at a speed that works for you.
If this sounds like something you'd like to try, contact me. We are currently offering Agility, Treibbal, and K9 Scent Work classes!
What is Intro to Dog Sports?
If you want to do something different with your dog or do not know what sport to get into this introductory class helps build skills needed to get started with an active life or any sport you and your dog may be interested in or suited for. This class emphasizes team work which is a concept that spending time with you is really REALLY rewarding. The Intro to Dog Sports class focuses on ... building a strong working relationship, focus and control leading to attentive teamwork; ... creating enthusiasm & motivation establishing a connection that is like no other; ... proprioception through body awareness games that minimizes injuries; ... maximizing strength and endurance to create a k9 athlete; ... continueing a solid understanding of obedient commands that follows and well structured K9 Manners program.
The skills you will learn in this class will provide introduce you to any sport. Building trust is key. Establishing a desire to work with you is key. Finding what your dog loves to work for and how to use those motivators will be discussed!! Basically this Intro to Sport class shows you and your dog how to work and have fun together!
Please check out the schedule today! Scroll down for classes.
What is Agilty?
Agility is a fun way to play and connect with your dog. Strengthening your relationship while working as a team attempting to navigate through a course of obstacles. Some people do agility training just for fun, while others enjoy competing in agility trials. During a trial, dog teams compete to see who can complete the obstacle course full of jumps, tunnels, weaves and walkways the fastest with the fewest mistakes.
Scroll down for classes.
What is Urban Herding - Treibball?
Originating in Germany Treibball (Try-Ball) is like urban herding. It is a positive sport for dogs of all ages and sizes. Dogs will learn to work off-leash, training will increase your dog's ability to focus and take direction. For you, this sport encourages creative play between you and your dog which improves trouble shooting problem behaviors.
Urban Herding can be thought of as a combination of herding and canine soccer. The goal of the game is for the dog to drive (or push) 8 balls of various sizes to a designated goal in a 10 minute time period. Since there is no physical manipulation during a competition, we do not use that method to train. All this means is the dog needs to be able to take direction and focus on the owner in a class situation.
In order to take this class, your dog must have taken a K9 Manners - Level 1 class or something equivalent.
Urban Herding is great for building focus, impulse control, reliability, distance work, off-leash skills and much more. Most of all, it is a 100% positively trained fun sport with low bodily impact and stress that strengthens communication between you and your dog.
Come and join the fun! Scroll down for classes.
What is K9 Scent Work?
Dogs noses are amazing and fascinating — a simple capability that is so powerful — one that makes the world not a visual one as it is for us, but a magnificently ODORful one. One that we do not allow the dogs to use as often as we should.
Alexandra Horowitz puts it in her book ‘Inside of a Dog,’ if you can notice the aroma of a teaspoon of sugar added to your cup of coffee a dog can detect a teaspoon of sugar in a million gallons of water, or two Olympic-sized pools. Can everyone say: “AMAZING!”
The part of the dogs brain devoted to analyzing smells is 40 times greater than ours — proportionally speaking. The dogs nose is 10,000 to 100,000 times as acute and 300+ million olfactory receptors are in their nose so they can inSNIFFigate the world and draw associations depending on what the information they pick up is good or bad.
Through scent private lessons, your dog will have a blast performing tasks that a working detection dog would do or a search and rescue tracking dog would do. It is utterly entertaining to watch a dog problem solve by using their God-given talent. The process of teaching scent work creates an engagement that is like no other. The amount of trust exhibited and teamwork exposed is worth the experience and the money spent.
If you are interested in K9 Scent Work, please let me know!
Private lessons are available! Scroll down for more information.
Class Details: Introduction to Dog Sports
5-Weeks of FUN to introduce the fun of a dog sport. This class will mentally challenge you and your dog as well as physically.
This 5-week class is highly recommended for folks new to any dog sport scene. We want all our students to get all they can out of their interactions with their dog. Dog sports are FUN and this class is designed to prepare owners for navigating and controlling their dog in any sport class. It also teaches you more fun things to do with your dog at home ... mentally stimulation with fun games that will keep them fit while showing them how to use their bodies in the space - proprioception. This class offers a little bit of physical challenges, so your dog should go home tired. Sport classes are generally more stimulating then average dog training classes and so the types of things you will learn over and above learning new sporty activities are:
- Learn the art of shaping where the dog thinks and is more involved in the games we play
- Learn tricks for foundation skills in treibball, agility, and scent games
- Work on happy crate training techniques so that your dog loves any crate - especially at the vet office
- Learn how being a team player in the class can enhance your experience and learning
- Wellness fitness and conditioning games will show the dog proprioception, etc.
The sports that we review are: Agility - Treibball (Urban Herding) - Scent Nose Work (The Nose Knows) - K9 Fitness and Conditioning
If you have already taken this class, I can give you additional homework that will take you into the next levels of the sport you are most interested in. Call me to discuss the possibilities.
Cost: $165
5-Weeks of FUN ... with 4-5 dog limit. Please call with questions
Instructors: Gail Hubbard
Start Date: Wednesday, September 20 at 6:00pm [no class on October 18] ---THIS CLASS IS FULL---
Class Schedule: Wednesday, September 20, 27; October 4, 11, 25
Time: 6:00pm
or...
Start Date: Tuesday, October 2 at 12:00pm [no class on October 23]
Class Schedule: Tuesday, October 2, 9, 16 30; November 6
Time: 12:00pm
New Class: Dog Sports Beyond Intro
Please contact me if you are interested.
Details: This class is for those who have taken this class before and want to continue on with a mentally challenging class that keeps your dog fit and active.
Location: 41 Edgewood Road Extension, Asheville NC 28803
This is a residence so play drive slowly. Please also know that there is plenty of parking on the right of the house so please pull all the way up the driveway. There are paw prints on the drive way to help you pull up the correct driveway as well as red posts with the number 41 on it to guide you. Follow the red doggie signs. There are red rockers on the porch and the red garage door. If you have any questions, please call me 828-712-4245.
What to Bring: Bring what motivates your dog (toy and small, soft food treats) and your enthusiasm!
Interested? Simply click the "Sign Up Now" bottom below.
Class Details
Since teamwork between dog and human is the cornerstone of agility, this class focuses on the relationship between you and your dog. Using a non-conventional way of training (or shaping) dog owners are challenged to team up with their k9 companion in a way they have perhaps never done. It is fun and the outcome is mind blowing as you get your dog to do things that you never could imagined them doing.
This class is an on-going experience. After this 6-week experience the class continues on with beyond foundation skills which leads to more and more agility.
It is often exciting to watch the process and journey of each and every dog team.
Read a story from a student and her scottie.
To build a successful agility team and have fun in agility, please take a K9 Manners class at A Good Dog's Life Training Center before signing up. If you have any questions, please contact me.
Cost: $165 for 6-weeks of FUN and Learning!
Instructor: Gail Hubbard
New Class Start Date: TBA
Typically interested agility foundations - beginning basic dog teams move onto Beyond the Basic Foundation and learn more and more skills until they are running a whole course.
Time: 6:00pm - 7:00pm
What to Bring: Bring what motivates your dog (toy and small, soft food treats) and your enthusiasm!
**This series will continue on through several levels. Typically it takes several months before students are running larger sequences and/or thinking about competing. Locally we have AKC and USDAA shows ... both are fun and both are right here in WNC.
Lesson Details: An Introduction to Urban Herding - Treiball
Is your dog showing signs of their herding instinct? It may be coming out as chasing the lawn mower, the sweeper, or trying to round up children, chickens, other dogs at your local dog park? If so, your dog will love urban herding.
Treibball is both a competitive and non-competitive sport for dogs of all ages and sizes. This fun sport requires patience while training the dog to have good teamwork and communication. It's great fun for any energetic dog who needs a job to do and fulfills daily enrichment through mentally challenging your dog. I think all dogs have and need to use their problem-solving ability and this will definately do that.
Treibball does not put any physical stress on the handler. It also builds confidence for shy dogs, and helps reactive dogs with impulse control.
An introduction to this sport typically starts with a private lesson, but it isn't necessary for this series of clinics.
Please contact Gail Hubbard with any questions.
2 Hour Clinic Cost: $45
NEW Intro Clinic: Saturday, June 3 at 10am-12:00am
1st LEVEL Level One Clinic: Saturday, June 10 at 9:30am-11:30am
2nd LEVEL Level Two Clinic: Saturday, June 17 at 9:30am-11:30am
Instructor: Gail Hubbard with special appearance by: Carolyn Bigley
Text/Call: 828-712-4245
What to Bring: Bring what motivates your dog (toy and small, soft food treats) and your enthusiasm!
Interested? You can click the "Sign Up Now" bottom below to sign up.
In an hour private lesson, I introduce you and your dog to the scenting games by using your dog’s choice of motivation — whether it’s high value treats or a high value toy. Your dog is taught to search in easy to learn steps.
Challenges can be quickly added to the game - a multitude of objects and varying heights. This initial private lesson is held indoors and will give you insight to mentally challenge your dog by using his/her nose - developing your dog’s searching skills. Teaming up with other 'scent team' is popular after this your private lesson.
Details: Please contact me if you are interested, or register for a private below.
Private Cost: $165
Instructor: Gail Hubbard | 828-712-4245
What to Bring: Bring what motivates your dog (toy and small, soft food treats) and your enthusiasm!
To Schedule A Private: Click here to register for a private lesson!